Fifth Grade DNA Scientists in Unit With DNALC

This morning, our fifth graders began their extensive unit of study on DNA through our collaboration with the DNA Learning Center at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory.

An educator from the DNALC led the session at Saint David's, which was an introduction to the composition of animal cells.

Comparing the cell's production of proteins to the work of a factory, the educator guided the boys in a discussion about the various components of cells, including the factory's "boss" DNA.

The boys then got down to work and built "baggie" models of cells from a variety of ingredients that represented the membrane, DNA, organelles, cytoplasm and nutrients.

This is the second year of our partnership with DNALC, which will include the boys' field visit to the DNALC Lab in Cold Spring Harbor; DNA extraction; and isolation, PCR and gel electrophoresis.

We have also partnered this year with the DNALC for a new unit in the eighth grade, which will begin next month.

Our school partnerships enable our boys to engage with DNA scientists in a series of hands-on learning experiences. Beyond the classroom units like this one inspire our boys to generate ideas as they employ their scientific minds, curiosity and imaginations.

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OLIVER!

This morning our fifth graders continued a great year-end tradition at Saint David's, The Fifth Grade Musical. The boys performed Oliver! and they were fantastic, providing impressive performances and demonstrating great vocal ability. They have been mastering the dialogue and musical numbers for weeks, and clearly gave it their all. Congratulations to the cast on a job well done, and to their Producers/Teachers James Hubbard and Jamie MacNeille, Director Phyllis Clark, Musical Conductor Jeff Moore, and the Parent Committee of Cynthia Chapman, Susan Kissane, Tara Neumann, Joyce Restituto, and Ann Roberts. Musical theater is alive and well at Saint David's!

Sixth Graders Meet with Dr. Carter Emmart, Director of Astrovisualization at the American Museum of Natural History

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Little can top catching a wave to beat the heat on an exceptionally hot summer's day. Yesterday, as the temperatures soared into the nineties, the Horizons at Saint David's Eighth Grade class traveled to Rockaway Beach with their teachers for surf lessons with New York's premiere surf school, Locals Surf School. The boys have been taking swimming lessons through our program since their first summer with us in 2012. At that time, they were were rising first graders, and our inaugural cohort of Horizons students. Yesterday, they were ready to go, and, as these pictures show, they had a blast while learning a new skill. This is the eighth year of Horizons at Saint David's, a six-week multi-faceted academic and cultural summer experience whose mission is to prevent summer slide in elementary school boys from low-income families. We began the program in conjunction with Saint David's 60th anniversary in 2011, as one way that Saint David's as an ins...

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